compiled by Howard Israel
"I am happy to see that the mayor realizes that the majority of the people of Anchorage do not feel that this is a necessary ordinance, which it is not. This ordinance was going to force small-business owners particularly to accommodate people who choose a certain lifestyle. Once you give special rights to homosexuals, then the next step is you legalize homosexual marriage and so forth."
– Rev. Jerry Prevo of the Anchorage Baptist Temple, commenting on Anchorage mayor Dan Sullivan's veto of an ordinance which would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation, Anchorage Daily News, Aug. 17.
"Jackson's gender blending was as transgressive, tabooed and subversive as his skin bleaching. He wore many masks until the masks became him. Whereas Jackson couldn't be on the down-low about his skin bleaching, he could be and had to be about his sexuality. Although Jackson was acquitted of all charges (of pedophilia and child abuse), the strangeness Jackson had to deal with … was homophobic bigotry. A bigotry that's predicated on the stereotype that one's gayness, or perceived gayness, is not only deviant but also innately criminal. Jackson was unquestionably eccentric, and his masks did not always protect or liberate him because he always had to don them within the restricted boundaries of both race and sexual discrimination."
– Rev. Irene Monroe, in a guest opinion column titled "The Queerness of Michael Jackson," http://www.BayWindows.com, July 8.
"One of the things that the leaders of the homosexual legal agenda have been saying for years is that whenever religious freedom or the free speech rights of Christians interferes with their agenda, that their agenda trumps. (This is) a clear and present danger. There's a freight train coming and it's heading right toward Christians, and it's called the homosexual legal agenda – and it will run right over our constitutional rights unless we're heard loud and clear.
– Benjamin Bull, chief counsel of the Alliance Defense Fund, speaking to the World Congress of Families, http://www.tips-q.com, Aug.14. ADF is a self-described Christian legal group established to defend "family values" and oppose the ACLU.
"I understand there may be a temptation among some to think that discrimination is no longer a problem in 2009. And I believe that overall, there probably has never been less discrimination in America than there is today. But make no mistake: the pain of discrimination is still felt in America. By African-American women paid less for doing the same work as colleagues of a different color and a different gender. By Latinos made to feel unwelcome in their own country. By Muslim Americans viewed with suspicion simply because they kneel down to pray to their God. By our gay brothers and sisters, still taunted, still attacked, still denied their rights. On the 45th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, discrimination must not stand. Not on account of color or gender; how you worship or who you love. Prejudice has no place in the United States of America."
– President Barack Obama, addressing members of the NAACP at the organization's 100th anniversary convention, http://www.politico.com, July 16.
"We're pleased that these schools are finally living up to their legal obligation to allow the free and open exchange of ideas and information. Schools that censor educational information out of some misguided assumption that anything about LGBT people is automatically sexual or inappropriate are doing a disservice to their students."
– Tricia Herzfeld, staff attorney of the ACLU of Tennessee, in a press release, successfully settled with two of the state's school districts and won the right for students to view supportive LGBT sites online, http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/youth, Aug. 13.
"I never wanted to stop anyone else's religion and their beliefs until I started seeing it defining policy. … Like gay marriage. You have a group of people telling other people how to live their lives, and you can't do that. In fact, I'm talking like there are actually Christians watching your show … Well, to the three that are watching, I just say you have to check what country you're living in because the freedom that allows you to practice religion is the same freedom you're stepping on. That's not right. And I want to add … if there was a nation of gay married couples that were telling you couldn't practice your religion, I'd be speaking up for you, too."
– Brad Pitt, being interviewed on "Real Time with Bill Maher," when asked what he doesn't like about religion, http://www.HuffingtonPost.com, Aug. 15.
"Economic challenges led us to this strategic decision. Love Won Out is not an inexpensive event to stage, and rarely, in over 50 cities where it's been held, have we ever made back our investment, despite good attendance. Right now we're facing a serious budget shortfall that threatens our ability to reach out to parents, families and married couples who count on our help. I want to assure you we're committed to good stewardship and living within our means, just as so many families are today."
– Jim Daly, president and CEO, Focus on the Family, Colorado-based evangelical ministry which coordinates Love Won Out conferences to "promote the truth that change is possible for those who experience same-sex attractions, in an article titled "Focus on the Family giving up its money-losing gay workshops," http://www.DenverPost.com, Aug. 13.
"Individuals belonging to unfamiliar groups, especially those who engaged in unusual practices regarding food, cleanliness and sex, posed a higher risk of carrying novel (and therefore particularly dangerous) infectious agents. Perceiving such individuals would thus activate the behavioral immune system and cause avoidance behavior and the accompanying emotion of disgust. This hypervigilance may be especially acute in those individuals who are especially sensitive to disgust, the emotion that drives the behavioral avoidance system. Because gay people almost by definition engage in 'unusual' sexual behavior, one would expect more negative reactions to this outgroup on the part of those who are particularly disgust sensitive. … all of this is actually very good news for gay people. Studies have shown that people can be habituated to stimuli that trigger disgust over time. The key to gay people feeling comfortable expressing their affection for one another in public places, therefore, is simply to engage in such behavior more routinely."
– Jesse Bering, research psychologist, in an article titled "Equal Right to Kiss? Why You May Be Disgusted by Gay Behavior without Knowing It," http://www.ScientificAmerican.com, June 18.
